The network, headed by Cenk Uygur, was doing better than ever, surpassing several billion views on Youtube, tens of thousands of subscribers, and dozens of channels and partners.

And then in August, TYT announced that they had raised a whopping $20 million from seasoned names in the private equity industry.

But at some point, things really started going downhill. And now, the network is reeling from the disappearances of multiple on-air personalities, multiple sexual harassment/assault allegations, and more...

It Starts For The Young Turks: The Michael Tracey Saga

The first sign that The Young Turks was having some serious trouble was back in June, when TYT reporter Michael Tracey drew national attention for claiming that he was assaulted by Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Tracey, who tried to ask questions of Waters at an event, made the ridiculous claim, posting a video of Waters moving past him in order to avoid questions.

Immediately, Tracey was widely derided for such an exaggerated claim. Publications like Newsweek wrote about it, and people on Twitter added sarcastic commentary like this:

It's just disheartening because it feels like I did sacrifice a very -- many lucrative offers out of principal right and to see unprincipled dishonest behavior. It is really...it breaks me....

I think that is you have certain people within any given media organization who do their job irresponsibly. They unfortunately end up dragging the entire company through the mud and they become representative of the company as a whole. I think that's unfair but I think that's the reality and that's what worries me the most, because it doesn't matter how hard some of us were to maintain credibility. It doesn't matter what our intentions are, or how well we want to do our jobs. All it takes is a few people aren't responsible with their commentary, their analysis with your coverage, whatever, to bring down the credibility of your media organization.

Long Time TYT Commentator Wes Clark Jr. Goes Off The Deep End

But the problems hardly stop there. In late July, one of The Young Turks' most long-time hosts, Wes Clark Jr., started acting really strange.

Wes Clark Jr., son of the famous politician, had been involved with Cenk Uygur and The Young Turks for decades. In fact, he was prominently featured in the movie Mad As Hell, which chronicled the start of the organization.

Clark had been an extremely good friend of Cenk Uygur, and he was often seen as a fill-in host on TYT. But that abruptly ended, and people started wondering why.

In late July, we all got the answer. Here is an excerpt from a post Clark wrote on Facebook:

On 3 July 2017, my wife left the house to get a manicure around 4:30 in the afternoon. Fifteen minutes later Cenk called and thirty seconds after that an OH-58 Scout helicopter with mustard, gold and white trim hovered over my house. I know what an OH-58 looks like because I was in 2/7 Cavalry and 1-10 Cavalry and we had them in our unit - although in the 90s ours didn't have the big ball above the rotor blade or on the bottom of the hull that collects electronic intercepts like this one did.

Despite the sound of the chopper, Cenk denied hearing it and suggested I was seeing things. He then proceeded to tell me that:

1. Cenk didn't know who told me about the gambling loss in Vegas but that people were spreading malicious rumors about him. I always find it amusing when a liar tells me I didn't hear something that came from their own mouth.

2. Wolf PAC had nothing to do with an Article V convention and that Common Cause was a tool of the "elite" and "Clintonites" both of which I know to be false.

3. Cenk claimed he didn't know what Grey Wolves even are, which is about as believable as an Alabaman telling you they never heard of the KKK.

4. Cenk said three times that he was worried I was so paranoid I might "accidentally" murder my wife.

Needless to say I reported this encounter to the FBI as well. I will not be intimidated. I will not be terrorized. I have no fear because God is with me.

In fact, in one Facebook post, Clark insisted that 1) there was an employee at TYT who was involved in a "false flag" attack on the U.S., 2) Cenk and Turkish government forces were spying on him using apps on his computer, 3) Michael A. Wood was hiring mercenaries in North Dakota, and 4) Cenk was going after him with helicopters funded by a Turkish terror organization that used drug money to kill diplomats.

Of course, commenters told Clark that he needed help, and that he should seek PTSD support. But he said his concerns were valid, and TYT kept mum on the whole thing.

But things were about to get even worse for TYT...

Reporters Accused of Sexual Assault, Abrupt Firings

This week, another bombshell came out about TYT, as reporter Jordan Chariton was accused of sexually assaulting a co-worker.

The co-worker alleges that the incident occurred in a hotel room, where Jordan, the alleged victim, and two TYT employees (a male and a female) were spending the night.

According to most accounts, the four people involved in the story went to a bar, and then returned to the hotel afterward where they all got into a hot tub.

This is where the accounts differ. The alleged victim said that the two TYT employees started hooking up, after which they returned to the room.

At that point, she says she got into bed and the two TYT employees tried to commit sexual acts on her.

She says she refused their advances. She then says that one of the TYT employees woke Chariton, who (after asking) got involved as well.

After this event, Chariton says that The Young Turks hired an investigator to look into the matter, at his request. But only a few days later, Chariton was abruptly let go.

TYT still has not commented on the situation, angering members and fans, who are expecting some sort of explanation of what is going on.

And we don't know the fate of the two TYT employees who were allegedly involved in the incident.

And Then There's This...

There's more.

A woman associated with Jordan Chariton's organization had some interesting things to say about TYT. None of this has been verified, so we don't know what may or may not be true, but regardless, it looks really bad for TYT to have this stuff out there...

Chariton has no work ethic yet constantly complained about his relations with TYT saying that Cenk was always "jacking off to himself." On the morning of November 8, I was sitting at Jordan's desk, in his kitchen, checking in on my husband and son while my phone was charging. I even have a text of me describing to my husband the scene unfolding in front of me at that time because it was so bizarre.

Martinez-Benge also wrote about other TYT reporters, including Nomiki Konst and Emma Vigeland:

That's when I heard Jordan tell Ty: "What Nomi is doing is unethical. You cannot write speeches for politicians and then report on it!" That's when I got up from where I was sitting in the kitchen and started looking for my books.

...

I overheard a phone call between Emma Vigeland and Jordan before she went live for TYT Politics to announce some ridiculous rap song collab between Jordan and Ty for a certain increase in viewership, Emma told Jordan that she still hadn't received an anticipated pay raise as promised by TYT during that conversation. Also, Ty, Emma and Jordan lamented that their paychecks were going to come in late, again, which apparently is standard practice at TYT, how progressive.

A Year After Record Gains, TYT Faces Major Hurdles

In 2016, The Young Turks scored record gains in members and watchers, as their unique pro-Bernie Sanders stance brought in people who had never previously heard of the organization.

TYT experienced extremely rapid growth over that year, and it is now bigger than ever.

But all of these issues are clear evidence that the organization has not been able to properly manage its growth, and that they will need to be more careful as they continue to gain recognition.

Wanna read more on this? Check these out:
The Young Turks (TYT) Hits Back at Dave Rubin 'Lazy' Koch Lackey (more);
Review: Dan Rather on The Young Turks (TYT) (more);
Justice Democrats Demand Resignation From Cenk Uygur After Blog Posts (more);
The Young Turks (TYT) Cenk Uygur Speaks Out On Jordan Chariton, Blames TATM For Firing (more).